1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle and an energy producing and storage system for a vehicle having a compressed gaseous fuel tank, an electric storage battery, and a fuel cell.
2. Background Art
Vehicles such as hybrid electric vehicles having fuel-burning engines and fuel cell vehicles, both powered by compressed fuel gas such as natural gas or hydrogen, typically utilize generally cylindrical fuel storage tanks. The cylindrical geometry of such tanks is dictated by the relatively high pressures necessary to store an adequate amount of fuel. Needless to say, cylindrical tanks do not package well in automotive vehicles, notwithstanding that engineers have striven for years to achieve acceptable packaging coupled with acceptable vehicle range. The need for packaging an electrical storage battery within either a hybrid electric vehicle or a fuel cell vehicle further compounds the problems faced by vehicle designers. Such batteries are typically not package-efficient and in fact, have frequently been of either a flat construction or square sectional construction, neither of which is particularly conducive to packaging within the confines of an automotive vehicle.
The inventors of the present energy producing and storage system have solved many of the problems which plagued known battery and compressed gas storage systems by providing a nesting relationship between an electric storage battery and a generally cylindrical compressed gas storage tank. The geometry of the electric storage battery's case takes advantage of the geometry found in a conventional automotive vehicle at the forward point of the traditional luggage compartment, by conforming with the seat back bulkhead of the adjacent passenger compartment, and at the same time conforming with the cylindrical outer wall of the compressed gas storage tank.